Adventures in the Third-Floor Corridor
by Natascope
Summary: AU. Harry and friends find different obstacles on their path through the third-floor corridor's trials in their attempts to stop the theft of the Philosopher's Stone.


I do not own Harry Potter.

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A/N: This is for Season IV of the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition, Round 09.

Team & Position: Caerphilly Catapults, Chaser 1.

Base Prompt: Incorporate 'Alice in Wonderland' into your story somehow. This story doesn't have to be a complete re-write, nor does it have to be an AU; write your given prompt in however you please. Just remember that judges will be looking for originality!

Optional Prompt: #11. (restriction) Exactly three characters must feature.

Optional Prompt: #12. (word) kaleidoscope

Optional Prompt: #13. (song) 'Fireflies' by Owl City

Kaleidoscope - (from Merriam-Webster) - something resembling a kaleidoscope: as

a : a variegated changing pattern or scene a kaleidoscope of colors

Word count: 2875, according to Google Docs

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 _And Harry let go. Cold, damp air rushed past him as he fell down, down, down and —_

An uncountable number of small lights lit up the darkness. The lights swirled around him in a kaleidoscope of movement, moving faster and faster until the vortex stopped and Harry's feet touched lightly upon the ground. He could only stand and stare as the lights—fireflies Harry realized—swirled back up above his head.

"HARRY!" he heard his name shouted frantically from above.

"It's okay!" he called back. Looking up, he could see no sign of the entrance above. "It's safe, you can jump!"

Harry watched in astonishment as the fireflies quickly swirled around, lighting up his two friends' faces as they settled down to the ground alongside him. Hermione and Ron both stood and stared as the fireflies once again moved above their heads to continue fluttering around. The sheer number of them in the air provided enough light to see around the room they were now in.

Hermione was the first of the two to recover. "Harry, I'm so glad you're alright," she said. "We were so worried when you didn't respond."

"Yeah," Harry said sheepishly, "I got a little caught up watching the fireflies. Sorry to worry you both."

"Don't worry 'bout it, mate," Ron said as his eyes started tracking around the room. "This looks like a ballroom, and it looks like there's a door over there." Ron pointed to the other end of the room.

With a shared glance, the three started forward only for a wall of fireflies to block their path. Harry stepped up to the wall and tried to push his way through. "Huh, it's solid."

"What?" Ron asked. He joined Harry at the wall and tried to force his way through. "How're we supposed to get to the door, then?"

"You said this looked like a ballroom, Ron. I think you're right," Hermione said.

"And how does that help us?" Ron asked.

"What if we need to dance our way across?" she asked nervously.

Ron's face visibly paled in the soft light. "Just 'cause I can recognize the room doesn't mean I can dance," he said.

"Harry?" Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged. "I've never danced, but I think you're probably right. Do you know anything about dancing, Hermione?"

"I've read about a number of different dances…. I've just never tried doing them before," she said, finishing in a whisper.

With a slight grimace, Harry stepped up to Hermione and stuck out his hand, asking, "May I have this dance?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as she replied, "You may."

They stood face-to-face, a slight blush creeping up each of their faces as Hermione directed Harry on where to place his hands. When she was ready, Harry attempted to lead the dance off—stepping directly on Hermione's toes.

"Ow."

"Sorry."

Hermione quickly returned the favor by stepping on Harry's foot a few tentative steps later.

The pair made a few more small steps before Ron interrupted. "Hey, guys. Look above you."

Harry looked up to see that two large groups of fireflies had broken away from the rest and were hovering above them. Each group consolidated until they appeared to form human bodies made of pure light. Watching for a moment, he saw the two bodies move with a slow, graceful series of steps towards the wall.

"They're showing us what to do!" Harry exclaimed.

"It looks like a foxtrot," Hermione said. "There are four beats, two slow steps followed by two quick steps." She took a deep breath as she looked at Harry resolutely. "We can do this, Harry."

He repositioned himself in front of her before they attempted to follow along with the fireflies above their heads. They were by no means graceful, but a minute or two later—and some slightly sore toes—the three had made it to the door on the other side of the room.

"Wow, you guys did great," Ron said before he started chuckling to himself. Hermione arched an eyebrow at him questioningly. "Just imagining Snape dancing his way across the room."

Ron's comment got both Harry and Hermione to chuckle along with him as they made their way through the door.

The room beyond was dark, descending to pitch black as the light from the fireflies was cut off by the closing door. Harry had just pulled out his wand to cast a light charm when the entire room lit up brightly.

The three were standing in a courtyard. A line of bushes full of white flowers stood along a path leading up to a castle. On the other side of the courtyard was a wrought iron gate, blocking an entrance to what looked like a hedge maze. Harry marveled at the greenery living inside the castle…. He did a double-take. There was another entire castle inside of Hogwarts!

Harry turned to Hermione and asked simply, "How?"

She could only shake her head as she stared up at the impossibility.

A metallic banging drew both of their attentions to the gate. Ron was holding the door and shaking it violently in an attempt to get it open.

"Door's locked," a voice said from behind a nearby bush.

"Who's there?" Harry asked.

"Oh, just me," the voice replied.

The trio moved around the bush to find what looked like a playing card with arms, legs, and a head holding a tiny paintbrush, delicately painting a flower red. Harry noted that the card was the ace of clubs.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked.

"Well, someone planted white rose bushes along this path, but the Queen wanted red roses. I've been tasked to paint all of the white roses red."

"Good for you," Ron said, pulling Harry and Hermione back a couple of steps.

"That was rude, Ron," Hermione huffed.

"We need to move forward," Harry said. "Any ideas?"

"I know how to get through the gate," the ace called out to them. "You help me paint some roses, I'll help you through."

Harry noticed that additional painting supplies were sitting by the card's feet. He grabbed some for the three of them. "We'll just work on that bush over there," he said, pointing to a bush on the other side of the path.

When they were next to their bush, Harry handed both Hermione and Ron a paintbrush. He then attempted to wrestle open the can of paint.

Ron stared at the miniature brush before looking at the other two. "Have you both gone mad? Do we have magic or not?"

Harry and Hermione looked at Ron sheepishly as they pulled out their wands. Together, they cast color changing charms, each changing a flower red.

After the spells took hold, a loud shriek filled the air. The noise shocked Harry, and he frantically looked around for the source of the noise. Whatever it was, it sounded like it was getting closer.

"What have you done?" the ace asked as it moved around to see the trio. Each was still standing there holding their wands. "You used magic! Oh no. No, no, no." The ace started moving toward the gate. "We must get you out of here before the Queen arrives."

The card produced a set of keys, which it used to unlock the gate to the hedge maze.

"Hurry. Get out of here. I'll stall her as long as possible," the ace told them as they hustled through the gate. The card pulled it closed behind them with a clang.

They had run around the first turn in the maze when Harry pulled them all to a halt. "Do you think he'll be okay?" he asked.

Before either could respond, the ever loudening shriek cut off. A pervasive silence followed before a voice—the same that had been shrieking—asked harshly, "Who used magic on my roses?"

"My Queen," the ace said, "three children came through and offered to help me paint. They headed into the maze after hearing your glorious voice."

Harry shared a look of unease with his friends. So much for the card stalling for them.

The trio had just started moving deeper into the maze when they heard the Queen yell, "Off with their heads!" With another shared look, they ran faster into the depths of the maze.

After a few minutes of running, taking random turns at intersections, the three paused to catch their breath. They were at a T-junction, leaving them to select a new direction of travel.

"Left or right?" Harry asked.

"We haven't been doing it so far, but for most mazes, if you keep a wall constantly to one side of you, you'll eventually find an exit," Hermione said.

The sounds of pursuit behind them started becoming more audible.

"So, left or right?" Ron asked.

Hermione shrugged.

The Queen let out another yell. "Off with their heads!"

Making the decision, Harry said, "Left."

They all started running again, following the left wall.

After another few minutes, they found themselves staring at a stone wall. They had finally managed to find a wall of the truly massive Hogwarts room. However, there was no door through which to exit, only a portrait of a purple cat. In the distance, the occasional, faint cry of "Off with their heads!" could be heard.

"Well…" Ron said through gasps for air, "now… what?"

"Dunno…" Harry wheezed out. "Need… to catch… breath…"

A minute later, the trio's beleaguered breathing had abated.

"Don't suppose this is a talking magical portrait?" Harry asked, seeing the cat yawn.

"Don't be silly, Harry," Hermione said. "Cats can't—"

"Hello," the portrait said. "I don't get many visitors around here. Certainly never so many," the cat said, smiling widely at them.

"But— but— cats can't—" Hermione started, only to be cut off by Ron sticking his hand over her mouth.

"Hey, cat. You know a way out of here?" he asked.

Somehow the cat managed to grin even wider. "That way. The long way. The left way."

"We already tried the left way," Harry said.

"Sounds like you needed to go the right way, then," the cat replied.

"What we really need is a short way," Ron said as the sounds of their pursuers reached a new peak.

"That's the way I prefer, myself," the cat said as it reached up and pulled on a branch within its frame. The portrait swung open, revealing a hidden path as the Queen and her guards rounded the nearby turn, letting both parties finally catch sight of each other.

"Off with their heads!"

The three friends rushed through the door, pushing it closed behind them. Only, it refused to latch. One of the guards had managed to stick their body through the door, stopping the latch from engaging.

They held the door closed against the pushes coming from the other side.

As they continued to hold it shut, Ron looked up the passageway leading forward. "You two need to go on," he said.

"NO!" Harry and Hermione shouted.

"Do you want to stop Snape or not?" Ron asked. "If we don't get a move on, he'll already have the Stone, and someone needs to stay here to keep this closed."

"Ron—" Harry said.

"I've got this. I've five older brothers, I can hold my own," Ron said.

Harry and Hermione looked at him sadly. Harry said, "You keep this door shut, Ron." He then grabbed Hermione's hand, dragging her down the passageway to the next room.

As the two continued down the corridor, a door dropped from the ceiling blocking off their route back to Ron.

"I hope he's all right," Hermione said.

"You heard him, he'll be fine," Harry said, attempting to convince himself. "What d'you reckon's next?"

"Well," Hermione said, "the anti-charm charm was probably Flitwick's, and the maze was undoubtedly Sprout's."

"The fireflies were probably done by McGonagall," Harry said.

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked.

"Can you see either Professor Quirrell or Snape dancing?" Harry asked with a grin.

Hermione grinned back. "Which leaves those two's protections still ahead."

The pair had reached another door.

"Ready?" Harry asked.

"Ready," Hermione said.

Together they pushed open the door and were immediately assaulted by the smell. Their eyes watering, they pulled their robes up to their noses to try to get some protection from the unpleasant odor.

Entering the room, they saw a giant toadstool sitting beside the wall. On top of the toadstool sat an odd, metallic device that was spitting out the smoke that was causing the awful smell. Otherwise, the room was empty. There were no signs of any traps or spells.

Cautiously, Harry and Hermione made their way across the room to the door on the other side. It opened without any issues. They slipped through the door, and with it shut behind them, breathed easier in the clean air.

"Well, that was odd," Harry said. "Do you think that was Snape's or Quirrell's?"

"I don't know."

The two hurried down the corridor to the last professor's protection.

Entering the room, each wall was a different color, even the floor was a checkerboard of red and gold. Sitting in the green wall across from them was a tiny door. Harry lay on the floor in front of it, trying to get a closer look.

"How are we supposed to get through this?" Harry asked. "The door is tiny!"

As if answering Harry's question, a light blinked on, revealing a table resting in the nearby corner of the room. Sitting on it was a single glass vial, filled with some kind of clear liquid. The two moved to the table, and upon getting closer, they were able to read the label on the vial: "Drink Me".

"It's a potion of some kind, Harry. Which means that this is Professor Snape's."

"Any idea what the potion is? With my luck, it's probably poison."

"It can't be poison, not if you're supposed to be able to get through to the Stone," Hermione reasoned. She reached out and picked up the vial, uncorking it and giving it a sniff. "A hint of sweetness to the odor." She swirled the potion around in the vial. "There's a fair amount of potion here, possibly enough for two drinks, one for each of us. Though it will depend on exactly how the potion works…"

Harry reached over and pulled it out of her hand before she could take a sip. "Only Snape would turn a protection for the Philosopher's Stone into a trust exercise," he muttered.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other for a moment before she started saying, "Harry, you should let me—"

"No!" Harry interjected. Hermione frowned at him. "You're a brilliant witch, Hermione. If something were to go wrong, there is no one better than you to deal with it. I'll drink the potion."

"There's more important things than just books or cleverness, Harry! Things like friendship and bravery and—oh Harry—be careful!" she exclaimed, wrapping Harry in a hug.

Harry nodded and was about to drink the potion before he stopped himself. "Assuming this works, you should head back and see if you can get to Ron, or somehow send a message to Dumbledore."

Hermione agreed to head back once he made it into the next room.

Harry tipped his head back, drinking roughly half the potion in a single gulp. "Huh, tastes a bit like Pumpkin Tart with a touch of pineapple."

Hermione's gasp caused him to look… up at her. He appeared to be half his original height!

"Guess we know what the potion does now," Harry said.

"You're still not small enough to get through the door, Harry. You'll have to drink the whole thing."

Harry tipped the remainder of the bottle down his throat, swallowing the sweet tincture. As he continued to shrink, he lost the ability to hold onto the bottle, causing it to fall to the floor. Thankfully, it didn't shatter on contact, just bouncing around before rolling to a stop underneath the table.

High above him, he saw Hermione looking down. He pointed to the door and started walking toward it. However, with the change in his size, the distance was now much greater.

"Harry." Hermione's voice seemed to boom from above him. "Step onto my hand, I'll carry you over," she said as she placed her hand down on the ground beside him. He clambered onto her hand. Once he was situated, she gently moved them over to the door before setting him down again.

In front of the door once more, Harry reached out to turn the doorknob. "It's locked," he said as the handle refused to turn. Hermione appeared confused, so he yelled as loud as he could, "IT'S LOCKED!"

The exclamation seemed to once again cause a light to illuminate a table that had previously not been present. Sitting high up on the table was a key. Hermione was able to easily walk over, pick it up, and hand it down to Harry.

With the door unlocked, it opened easily. He turned back to Hermione and gave her a large wave.

"Good luck, Harry," Hermione said.

Harry turned around and said quietly to himself, "Here I come."

He stepped into the inky blackness of the last chamber, ready to confront Snape.


End file.
